(1). Field Of The Invention
The invention relates to a tank having a filter cartridge for appliances which use water, particularly domestic appliances such as automatic drink machines like automatic coffee machines, drinking water dispensers, cooking and baking appliances, steam appliances such as steam irons, steam cleaners, high pressure cleaners, air cleaners and conditioners or the like where suction is provided on the tank to draw water from the tank using a means for producing a reduced pressure and in which a filter connection is provided for connecting a filter cartridge to the interior of the tank. More particularly the invention pertains to a tank having a specially constructed outlet with a coding structure that accepts correspondingly shaped filters employing a key/lock principle as well as specially constructed filter cartridges and adapter.
(2). Description Of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
In various machines, for example in coffee machines or espresso machines, a water tank is provided in order to hold a liquid, in the case of coffee machines or espresso machines in order to hold water, in which case a filter cartridge can be inserted into the tank in order to prepare the water before processing in the machine. Known filter cartridges have an inlet in the lower area, through which the water is sucked in by the associated machine. In this case, the water is passed over a filter bed and is passed, via a connection of the filter cartridge to a corresponding suction connection of the water tank, into the machine.
For reliable operation of the machine, it is of major importance that a filter cartridge with defined filter parameters is used. An incorrect filter cartridge will result in the machine being supplied with inadequately or incorrectly prepared water, which can lead to negative effects, for example to limescale or the like, or even to machine defects. The machine control system is not able to initiate the intended servicing intervals at the correct time, as when using a filter cartridge of the correct type, if such a filter cartridge is not actually used, however. When using inadequate filter cartridges, problems arise not only in the operational reliability of the machine but also in the question of the guarantee, etc. It is therefore of major importance to ensure that only permissible filter cartridges are ever used.